To Vasilisa, as a Sergeant with 18 years on the job I would suggest you get past what others think of your looks. A professional orginazation will never be concerned with your looks other than are you neat, clean and dressed for the part you are expected to fill.

People will always talk about you when you are new and enter a room in a prison no matter who you are or how you look (cute or not so cute). The key is for you to carry youself with pride, head held high and look people directly in the eye when speaking to or being spoken to. The “how cute she” is syndrome will get old and eventually go away when you prove yourself as a qualified correctional officer who is serious about her job. I always suggest to save the getting dressed up look for when you go out off duty and this goes for both men and women.

As a male working in a female prison/ men’s intake center we get what you are getting now from both staff and inmates. When they make innapropriate comments we are taught to redirect the person who is doing this and hold them accountable. The accountability goes for both inmates and staff, niether one get’s a pass at being stupid. In today’s professional work force we have a high standard to treat everyone with respect and not make them feel less than.

I always try to treat females like I would treat my mother or sister, with respect, courtesy and the expectation they do the same. As far as creating hazards amongst inmates or staff, looks makes no difference plenty of not so good looking staff create just as many issuse as the good looking ones.

Like any issue it can create problems but only if managment allows it and we sit by and do nothing as team members, “responsibility is doing the right thing when nobody is looking” so establish yourself as this type of professional, responsible person and you will go far.

If ya don’t get job down there, open your scope to wide field of view and consider moving we always need good staff, best of luck :)

I have worked with some fantastic looking Female Officers and to be honest as long as they could do the Job the same as anyone else their attractiveness or lack of was not an issue. And if they cant see past your looks then they have some serious issues with their own policies.

Hey guys, I’m fishing for some insight here. I know everywhere is different. I’m in South Florida. I just had my first interview for Correction at a local county jail. They honestly caught me off guard. The whole thing revolved around “Why do you want to be here, you do not belong here” kind of vibe. It was my fault. I did my best to not be nervous and especially convey nervousness but interviews always get me a little. The Captain cut me off a few times as well. I’m so very much a mutt of a girl. I read, I write, I dance, I practice yoga, I’m an artist, I volunteer at animal shelters, I can speak in Queens English… but I have also practiced combative full contact martial arts for the last 6 years off and on, I hike, I hunt snakes, I salt water fish, I’m covered in tattoos (all able to be hid, I can be ghetto, vulgar, rough around the edges, or one of the dudes. I don’t feel like I portrayed that side of me well enough, cause especially in an interview, I was more reserved, naturally.

He asked me over and over why? Why do you want to be around these people? You will meet unsavory characters. These are not refined artistic people… I simply explained that I have a leather hide and I feel that I will be good at the job due to my previous experience and skills at handling people in general. I also explained I may change my Major and pursue Psychology with a concentration in criminal justice. That didn’t seem to be the right thing to say either, as he pointed out that it’s a small facility and counseling is a very small part of the job. He seemed concerned about hands on too, towards the end. That’s when i tried to kick it up and explained, I know break falls, I’ve done body toughening, I’ve been tackled and backhanded so hard it knocked me off my feet, etc and none bothered me. I am confident that I can be trained in “their way” and handle it.

At that point, they warmed up a little. The remainder of the end of the interview seemed good, and they offered me a tour of the jail. The lieutenant that showed me around was cool. Very warm. Then, when we were in a pod, he started whispering with the other officer and I heard them say, “yeah we won’t see her again. I can’t believe they even let her go on a tour.” This jacked up my concern and when we walked out I asked what that was about, in a nice way you know. He said, “They never hire pretty girls, ever.” I responded and laughed and said, “I knew I should have not worn any makeup at all!” He said, “Well it’s not the makeup.” I asked, “Do you think they see attractiveness as a safety hazard with the inmates?” His response was, “Well not with the inmates.” So I said, “Ohhhh…..” and that’s when I shifted gears drastically. I said, “I understand. Women can be incredibly sensitive, vindictive and malicious. I am absolutely not like that. Nothing bothers me. A coworker has to do something incredibly malicious to bother me. Like put your forearm on my throat, slam me against the wall and grab me.” He said, “but that is exactly what we’ll do during training, and you’ll do the same to me.” I said “No no that’s fine. I mean, to bother me you’d have to do that and stick your hand down my pants you know. That’s no good. That’s what it takes to make me uncomfortable. Nothing else bothers me and I’ll tell you… I don’t bamboozle people I don’t mess with peoples livelihood….” There’s a woman I currently work with in my current job, who is a sexual harassment case waiting to happen. She’s manipulative, vindictive, malicious as hell and pretty. The company wants her gone but they can’t let her go because they are scared of her.

My goal was trying to say, “You are safe with me. The guys here are safe with me. You are not going to piss me off or make me uncomfortable unless you do something extreme.”

I’m worried cause I was caught off guard by having to portray that side of myself. I may have said the wrong things and might have been misunderstood or not made sense to the guy. I feel like this kind of character I have makes me a unique female, really. I’m viciously protective of my coworkers/team, even the bad apples. I can be soft or I can be brutal. I can dress in a suit and talk nice or I can rumble and talk trash all day. I understand mens concern with women in general, and these guys don’t know me.

I’m praying for a second interview so I can better prepare myself to address any concerns, again. In the mean time…

Has anyone had any experience with “pretty girls” as officers in the system? Do you feel it creates any hazards amongst the inmates or other officers?